Key Facts
- •The m.v. Ever Given, a large container ship, ran aground in the Suez Canal on 23 March 2021.
- •SMIT Salvage B.V. provided salvage services, including technical assistance and the use of chartered tugs.
- •The defendants, Luster Maritime S.A. and Higaki Sangyo Kaisha Limited, are the co-owners of the Ever Given.
- •The defendants argued that a contract existed between SMIT and the vessel owners, precluding a salvage claim.
- •A Jurisdiction Agreement was signed, agreeing to English law and practice for determining the dispute.
- •The main dispute was whether a binding contract for salvage services had been concluded before the salvage operation.
Legal Principles
A right to salvage arises when a person, acting as a volunteer (without any pre-existing contractual or other duty), preserves or contributes to preserving a vessel from danger.
Brice on Maritime Law of Salvage, 5th Ed.
A contract is formed when parties communicate to make it appear, objectively, that they have reached agreement on sufficient terms and intend to be bound.
RTS Flexible Systems Ltd v Molkerei Alois Müller GmbH & Co KG (UK Production) [2010] UKSC 14
The court considers the whole course of parties’ communications when determining whether a contract was concluded.
Global Asset Capital Inc v Aabar Block SARL [2017] EWCA Civ 37
Contemplation of a fuller contract or written signature does not automatically negate an intention to be bound earlier.
Von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg v Alexander [1912] 1 Ch 284
Outcomes
No binding contract for salvage services was concluded before the salvage operation.
The parties' communications, objectively assessed, did not convey a mutual intention to be bound by the agreed remuneration terms alone, before finalizing the detailed contract wording. The ongoing negotiations and the clear language indicating the need for a further, more detailed agreement demonstrate a lack of intention to be bound before such an agreement was reached.